Sewing Machine Operators
SOC 51-6031 · 2024-2034
Operate or tend sewing machines to join, reinforce, decorate, or perform related sewing operations in the manufacture of garment or nongarment products.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
Shrinking -23.8%
California projects this job will shrink over the next ten years. Fewer openings may mean a harder search.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $38,806per year
- Projected openings
- 12,670
- Projected change
- -23.8%
- Usually needs
- No formal educational credential
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Monitoring
- Complex Problem Solving
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Active Listening
- Quality Control Analysis
- Operations Monitoring
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville MSA (Santa Cruz County) | $48,211 | 50 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | $47,102 | 360 |
| Redding MSA (Shasta County) | $45,225 | 40 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $44,709 | 600 |
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) | $44,641 | 490 |
| Stockton-Lodi MSA (San Joaquin County) | $43,183 | 110 |
| North Coast Region (Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, and Mendocino Counties) | $42,455 | 90 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles MSA (San Luis Obispo County) | $40,639 | 110 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | $40,546 | 280 |
| Merced MSA (Merced County) | $40,403 | 30 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara MSA (Santa Barbara County) | $40,331 | 60 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County) | $39,223 | 240 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma MSA (Sonoma County) | $39,182 | 130 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $39,172 | 1,130 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $38,248 | 980 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $37,491 | 2,030 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $37,323 | 7,290 |
| Bakersfield-Delano MSA (Kern County) | $37,304 | 80 |
| Fresno MSA (Fresno and Madera Counties) | $37,048 | 130 |
| San Rafael MD (Marin County) | Not reported | 110 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $35,747
- A quarter earn under
- $37,210
- Half earn under
- $38,806
- Three quarters earn under
- $45,290
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $50,159
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials | $40,197 | 3,890 | -12.8% |
| Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | $47,162 | 3,280 | -6.3% |
| Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | $49,842 | 4,980 | -3.5% |